Helmet.



F. STERN.

HELMET.

APPLICATION mm JAN. 5. me.

Patented Ma y 80, 1916.

Inventor."

by 4M Slam A ttj sQ accompanying drawings,

' particularly UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDEIEHCK STERN, OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK.

HELMET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 30, 1916.

Application filed January}, 1916. Serial No. 70,333.

which the air is laden with foreign particles and a continuous stream of such parl ticles is directed against the workman. In

the operation of sandblasting, for instance,

, attention of State the rebound of the foreign particles from the surface against which the blast is dix rected results in a constant bombardment of the worker with both light and heavy particles, the force of the blows of which isnot inconsiderable. The need for protection has always been recognized, but the devices hitherto provided have been of a makeshift character and so utterly ineffective for the intended purpose as to attract the general legislators throughout the country. The present invention seeks to meet the conditions in a highly scientific.

' manner and to provide a helmet which shall be light, durable,

inexpensive and thoroughly effective in its primary purpose of protecting the throat and lungs of the wearer against dust.

A; further object of the invention is to- 7 provide in such a helmet thorough ventila- .a...iie m t seab tion so as to insure a constant supply of uninhaled air for the wearer and, generally, maintain the head of the wearer and the in- 'terior of the helmet in a sanitary condition.

A further object is to provide such 'a helmet which shall be readily adjustable to fit heads of varying sizes, and shall be formed of a plurality of members connected detachably one to another to permit the ready disassembling ofsuch parts for purposes-of replacement, cleansing and repair.

' Other improvements in the details of construction 'Wlll be described more particularly hereinafter with reference'to' the ac-' companying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a viewin perspectiveshowing i s-ah Present "arr for sandblasters, grinders and others employed in carrying on work Hr nients, part of the hood being broken away being shown in snug engagement with the eck of the wearer as intended during use.

4 g. 3 is a view pi horizontal section through therhood taken on the plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Beforedescribing the helmet as a whole and particularly th'e improved features of the hood, the supporting frame for the hood will be considered inasmuch as this frame itself embodies many improved structural details, all of which are of importance in realizing the general objects of the inven tion. The frame is made up of an open head hand a which is secured to rigidly extending supports 1) therefoit, which maybe made cheaply from wood,\ these supports being fastened in turn to a flexible band 0 which conforms generally in outline to the flexible head band, The inner ends-of the spacing blocks b'are beveled, as appears-in Fig. 2, so that when the flexible head band a is fastened thereto, this head band will assume a substantially conical form and, accordingly, conform readily to the shape of the head of the wearer. This feature is of particular importance in a head gear of the bulk and weight of a helmet inasmuch as it is essential that the helmet receive firm and uni form support throughout the head band and not have its entire weight transmitted to the head through a contacting surface of relatively small area, such as the edge of a head band, as would be the case were the head band maintained in a truly .vertical position. The curved frame band 0 has secured thereto arched flexible members d which are united with one another at the point of intersection at the apex ofthe supporting frame thus formed, as will appear more necessarily follows that while this frame is -.aun itary structure, it is readily adjustable to the head of the wearer, without disturbing the fixed relationship between the head band a and the circular band a. The adjustment of the head band may be conveniently effected by securing removably to the free ends of thecircular frameband (Stake-up straps e, on one of which may be carried a buckle e arranged to engage 'theother and hold the-two at the desired adjustment, in a the greatest possible degree,

" tected. since oles as might injure the eye manner commonly employed in other connections. The attachment of the take-up straps e to the free ends ofthe band 0' may be effected by any approved means, but, as .i liustrated,'small bolts f and nuts f have b .n found to be most satisfactory under conditions of use. Such connections are strong and durable and yet permit ready removal of the bolts whenever the helmet is to bedis asselhbled in'the manner later described.

To the flexible frame is applied a pliable hood 9 of any satisfactory material, such as jean, the crown of which is shaped to conform generally to'the dome-shape of the frame and dimensioned in conformity thereab' y with the apex of the dome-shaped hood, as by a flexible clip h, and the circular frame band 0 may be united I with the hood at the base of its dome," as through removable clips The relation between the hood and its supporting frame, as regards shape and dimensions, is intended to insure that the hood shall bethe same relation to the head of each wearer, no matter what the size of the head. The spacing blocks 6 insure that the hood shall be held away. from the head a fixed distance, and no matter whether the ventilating covering,jthe composition", of

which is such as to exclude effectively, to all foreign substances,

through which air for breathing i's-permit'- ted to pass and through which the worker may see. This opening must be amply proit must exclude all such partiand interfere with the seeing of the wearer and also exat a plurality of points held in about frame; be expended or contracted a'sa whole, the ventiting space between the hood and the head such as dust, etc., and yet permit fih tration therethrough of air fit to be breathed;

elude to the greatest possible degree, injurious particles which are thrown against the front of the hood on the rebound in a continuous stream and with considerable force. In the illustrated embodiment the opening at the front of the hood is of ample dimensions and is so disposed with respect to the face of the wearer as to have the u "per half thereof constitute a sight openingand the lower half thereof merely a ventilating opening. To this end, the upper half has placed across it an impervious transparent plate is, preferably of flexible material, such as mica, and in front a plurality of layers of Wire cloth of differing mesh from one another, two such layers being shown in the accompanying drawings, the outer layer Z being of relatively coarse mesh and the inner one m, which lies between the transparent plate In and the outer layer 1, of relatively fine mesh. The lower edge of the sight plate' It is united with another layer of wire cloth n, which is of exceedingly fine mesh and lies behind the two ,outer layers 1, m, of \vire,cloth' which extend entirely-over the opening in the front wall of the hood. From this description, it will appear that the upper half of-the opening has two layers of Wire clothdisposed in front of the transparent plate k, so as to afford adequate protection to the same, while the lower half of the opening is cov= ered by three juxtaposed screens of differing mesh, the coarsest being outermost. Of course, the edges of the to the cloth-of thehood the edge of the opening in such-manner as to prevent positively the passage of dust, etc., at the line of union. The improved hood, in addition to the combined sight and ventilating: opening above described, is formed with other ventilating openings, one suchopening 0 'being' disposed about'opposite each ear and another such opening 7; being provided in the dome of the hood 9 and at the rear thereof,

of this plate is secured v hood is insured and the constant inflow of air fit to breathe and the constant outflow of exhaled air brought about. Each of the -1ast named openings may be effectively covered by a screen of substantially the same composition as that used in the front opening of the hood, such screen being formed of. a" plurality of layers of wire cloth of differing mesh, two such layers being in-. dicated at p and p in the ventilating opening 19 and also in ventilating openings 0.

ach such screen has the wire of coarsest mesh outermost. It is to lie-understood that no one of the ventilating coveringsdescribed is to be limited in the number of juxtaposed layers of Wire cloth employed, provided there be two'or more such lays-ifs, this phase of the invention residing in the provision of ventilating screens made up of a plurality of juxtaposed layers of wire cloth of differ ing mesh.

in order to insure the complete closing of the improved hood. it is formed with a skirt (1 on its lower edge which. when the helmet is in use. rests around the neck and on the shoulders of the wearer and is maintained in snug engagement therewith by means of a suitable draw-string carried in the skirt. i

In use the hood is passed over the head of the wearer and the head hand a forced into snug engagement with the head. This hand may be adjusted readily to the head by n'ianipulation of the buckle c and draw-tapes e in a manner which will be obvious. tapes 0, it should be noted. are preferably secured at the outer side of the hood g. the securing bolts f for the tapes being passed through the body of the hood and the circular frame band 6. Adjustment of the tapes in this way, brings about corresponding adjustment of the hood supporting frame and the hood itself, as is most desirable. Then the helmet is thus adjusted, the inclined face of the head band a will con form automatically to the shape of the head and rest in snug engagement therewith throughout the length of the band. The draw-string g is drawn snugly around the neck and tied so as to prevent the entrance of dust under the lower edge of the hood. If desired, the skirt g rests over the shoulders in such manner as to permit an outer garment, such as a coat or sweater, to be drawn on over it and thus form a more efiective dust excluding joint. The sight plate It: at this time, is disposed opposite the eyes of the wearer. In sandblasting or grinding,

the perator must face the stream and this stream produces a rebound of flying particl s from the surface which is treated, which particles, for the most part, strike against the helmet. The forcewith which these foreign particles, both small and large, strike a ainst the helmet is very considerable an the tendency is for them to beat their way through the finest interstices in the helmet, the larger particles serving to hammer the smaller particles through such interstices. This condition is recognized and the improved ventilatii'ig screen is intended to meet it. Th screen in the front ventilating opening has it outer layer 1 of very stout, coarse wire cloth and this screen bears the brunt of the blows ol the def cted par ti les and breaks the force of such blows. The lar er particles, b ing coarser than the mesh 0 thlS outer screen are turned away and fall from the screen. Finer particles tend to pass inward. but are excluded sue essively by the inner screen m, n, etc., according to their size. The particles of dust. if any, which pass thri'iutrh the finest screen These n, which may be of silk or wire cloth, of perhaps 350 or 409 mesh, are so fine as to be of about the character which is no-more disturbing than that commonly inhaled by every one. The air finally admitted throug 1 this fine covering is fit to breathe and afiords the wearer of the helmet an adequate supply.

The screens in the openings 0 at the side of the helmet. while not subjected to the hammering action of the foreign particles as described in connection with the front'screen Z, are of such composition as to prevent efi'ectively the passage into the hood of obnoxious foreign substances. The exhaled air passes upward in the hood around the head and between the head band a and the spaced frame band c and is discharged, for the most part. through the ventilating screen p at the rear of the hood. This continuous ventilation is assisted. to some extent, by the side openings 0. Not only do the coverings described insure a scientific filtering of the dust-laden air but they are of such composition as to be exceedingly stout and durable. This is of especial importance for the covering in the front of the hood, since, as explained, blows.

It will be understood from the description iven that the supporting frame for the ood may be removed as a unit by withdrawing the bolts f for the adjusting straps e and loosening the clips 12. and 2'. Upon removal of the frame it may be disassembled for purposesof replacement or repair by de' taching the strips (I from the cylindrical frame member c. Further, the covering screens for the several ventilating openings in the hood may be replaced by a simple sewing operation. as will be evident, these screens being entirely flexible and formed of hat is known as wire cloth. If desired, the transparent sight plate is may be omitted.

Changes in structural details may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention provided the advantages sought are realized by the employment of means which are equivalent to those recited in the ap pended claims.

1 claim as my invention.

1. A dust excludin helmet having a combined ventilating ballle and sight opening opposite the face of the wearer and a cove! ing therefor composed of a transparent plate opposite the eyes at the upper portion of the opening, and a plurality of layers of wire cloth of differing mesh directly superposed upon one another. the outermost layer being of coarsest mesh and directly exposed to the blows of flying particles and serving as a bafile, and each successive layer under this screen serving as a battle for the flying par-' ticles striking it, whereby the face of the wearer is protected from the blows of flying particles and ventilation is afi'orded, and the it is subject to a continuous rain ofto hold transparent plate being secured behind a portion of the Wire section and protected thereby in the manner described.

2. A dust excluding helmet having a hood and a supporting frame therefor, the frame comprising an open head band, a similar open frame band. rigid blocks secured fixedly to the head band and the frame band the two in spaced relationship, and adjustable straps secured to one of said hands to permit adjustment of the head band to the head of the wearer.

3. A dust excluding helmet having a hood and a supporting frame therefor, the frame comprising a head band, a similar frame hand, rigid blocks secured fixedly to the head band and the frame band to hold the two in spaced relationship, intersecting arched frame members secured detaehably to the frame band, and means to secure the hood removably to the frame, whereby the entire helmet may be disassembled.

4. A supporting frame for the hood of a helmet comprising an open head band, a similar open frame band, spacing devices interposed between the head band and the frame band to hold the, two in spaced relationship, and adjustable strips secured to one of said bands to permit adjustment of the head band.

This application signed this 31st day of December, A. D. 1915.

FREDERICK STERN. 

